Eat Pray Love Again
by richonnelandfill
Summary: If you are against real-life shipping stop right here. Do not pass go, do not collect 200. Andy goes on a well-needed Eat Pray Love-style trip to Africa after a life changing event, yet the vacation may cause more unexpected events than he anticipated.
1. Shock and Denial

**A/N: So . . . clearly you're hear for the mess in my brain. Although the characters are real people, all story lines are fiction. Please anti's stay out y'all feelings lol . Okay here we go. If you're against real-life shipping this ain't for you boo. Just stop reading now.**

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PART I

Andy spent the last two years of his marriage trying to hold on as tight as he could, but it was Gael that flew in to town to _surprise_ him in the middle of work to serve _him_ divorce papers.

 _Ten years gone from his life. Ten years spent in something that wasn't even going to last._

Andy couldn't believe it. He took the flight several times to go back home in between shooting and knew it was about an eight hour flight. That means that during that eight hours Gael was on a mission to divorce him, she probably did not even think twice about it. Within those hours she could have easily decided that their marriage was worth fighting for, but there was no doubt in his mind that Gael had enough with him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching Cape Town, South Africa where the local time is 6:15 p.m..."

Andy began buckling his seatbelt preparing for the descent of the plane. He initially thought he would get some rest at some point throughout twenty hour flight, but his mind was reeling. He tortured himself replaying every argument he could remember. Considering what he could have said or done to prevent this. Needless to say, he only grew more frustrated with himself, his head beginning to pound with an impending headache.

Before he left, he'd made a promise to his mother that he would not spend the majority of his trip in bed, as Cape Town was a beautiful town that opened up into the South Atlantic Ocean. She recommended him that he stay near the mountains, knowing that hiking was something that Andy loved to do in his spare time and it would be therapeutic for him. His mother loved South Africa, she had spent many years living there herself and endorsed it as the best place for Andy to go clear his mind after the horrendous dissipation of his marriage.

 _'I should've listened to mum, when she tried to talk me out of marrying Gael so fast_ ,' Andy thought as he sat on the outside deck of the ocean front restaurant. The shrimp on his plate beyond exquisite, yet no amount of red wine seemed to wash away the sour taste in his mouth that Gael left.

She had the nerve to request full custody from the judges. _'I was the only one working and providing for the family, yet she was making an argument that she'd be a better fit for a home for our children. Ridiculous. She thinks just 'cause she came from money that she's better than me. She always thought that way and I chose to ignore it_. _'_

His waitress knew her customer was on the cusp of not being able to drive home but she could not help offering more wine as a buffer to ask her embarrassing question.

"Excuse me sir," the young waitress said, interrupting Andy in the middle of his self-dialogue. She chewed on her bottom lip before continuing, "Would you happen to be the guy who plays Rick Grimes on television?"

Andy sighed. Usually he would not mind fans of the show coming up to him, but he was currently a hot mess. He did not want his ex-wife to see him drunk and by his lonesome halfway across the globe from home. He could not give her the satisfaction that he was even bothered.

"Yea, that's me. Do want a selfie?" Andy released his knife and fork onto the white tablecloth in front of him.

"Oh sir, yes if it's not too much. I'm so sorry to bother you during your dinner," the waitress apologized.

"No, it's okay. Really." Andy waved her to come pose near him so that they were both in the frame of her phone's camera. He was able to conjure up his signature goofy face and point, aware that the picture would be all over social media within the next couple of minutes.

 _'I don't look out of the normal. Black shirt, jeans, my lucky cougar hat, typical Andy,'_ he thought once more, taking a quick glance at himself.

He was fortunate enough to have his divorce completed without it becoming public and that is how he wanted to keep it. Sure, celebrities got divorced all the time, but to him it was an embarrassment. He once prided himself on having a marriage that withstood the pressures of Hollywood, but his ex-wife was not making things easy. She hated his job.

When they first got together he was a young up-and-coming actor with barely any big projects to his name. Actually acting roles were far and few between, so when they met he took a stable job as a director of a tv show. His agent called one day and persuaded him to go for the lead role of a new series and now he was a star all over the globe. Practically everyone knew of his work. Gael couldn't stand it. The more famous he got, the more time he had to spend away from home, but he thought he was doing his part. Turning down interviews here, missing speaking engagements here. All so he could spend time with his family. The last years of his marriage, Gael did not even come to stay with him overseas the months that he filmed the show. _That selfish bitch._

Thankfully, before the end of his meal, the waitress came back to his table to help him get an Uber back to his hotel suite. Andy stumbled down into the luxurious bedroom and plopped face first onto the bed. He normally would not spend the money on something so lavish, but figured he deserved it after the year he had. It honestly would've been cheaper to rent an apartment for his month stay, yet he was jubilant in the idea of being pampered by someone else. His ex-wife had certainly dropped the ball on that.

Their last five months, they had stopped having sex and the time before that was a cringe-worthy attempt at having a romantic Valentine's day, but that day for the past four years had easily shifted into a shower of arguments. Not only was Gael struggling to conjure up any emotional feelings for him that day, she also struggled with her husband being completely enamored with another woman - Danai Gurira.

Valentine's Day was Danai's birthday and every year since they met, Andy would give her a call to wish her happy birthday, which usually ended up in giggles and a giant smile on his face. This made Gael jealous beyond measure. He stopped smiling like that at her after the birth of their second child. But there was something about Danai, they just instantly connected.

Andy's phone vibrated violently on the bedside table. He almost dared not to look at it but he figured it would be his best friend Norman calling to check on him.

 _ **Sorry, I'm just now getting to my phone. I am finishing an edit of my speech.**_

It was Danai. He had asked her earlier that morning what she was doing. He had hoped that she would distract him from his thoughts during his long flight. However, he was thrilled that she took the time to answer anyway, even with it being closer to 9:00 p.m.

 _ **A speech? Danai, you work too hard. When's the last time you've been on vacation?**_

 _ **A true vacation? . . . maybe, 3 years ago on my birthday. But you know I travel all the time for work. So that sorta counts.**_

 _ **Lol no it doesn't.**_

 _ **Hey, you don't get to judge me. You work just as hard.**_

 _ **Hence, why I'm on vacation now.**_

 _ **Well speaking of vacation, how's Cape Town?**_

 _ **I haven't gotten to sight-see much. I got in around 6 pm. All I wanted to do was eat and go to bed.**_

 _ **Yea, I saw your goofy picture with your waitress. And sorry if I'm keeping you up. It's noon here but I know that means it's gotta be around 9 p.m. there.**_

 _ **Are you keeping tabs on me? And no you're not keeping me up.**_

Technically she was keeping him up, but he wasn't going to tell her that. He enjoyed her company too much, to squander it for a few measly hours of sleep that he eventually would get to anyway.

 _ **Don't flatter yourself Andy lol. And good, did you talk to the kids today?**_

 _ **Yea, this morning. I thought they would make me feel guilty about going on this trip, but they're so mature. They wanted me to go. My son said 'Dad go relax! You deserve it.'**_

 _ **Aww he's so sweet. I know that made you feel good.**_

 _ **It did. I'm also glad that you checked in on me.**_

 _ **Talking to you is never a chore Andy, now get some rest.**_

His cheeks flushed red.

 _ **Ok, goodnight Danai.**_

 _ **Goodnight.**_

Andy placed the phone back onto the table and toed off each shoe. He pulled his body closer to the head of the bed and began rearranging his pillows when his phone began to ring. Couldn't have been Danai again. He leaned over and saw Norman's picture of him kissing Andy's cheek appear. _It'll have to wait until morning._ He was ready to make up for those hours of sleep he missed on the plane.


	2. Bargaining

The next morning Andy was up taking his hike to Cape Point. There were others out and about travelling as well, yet the day was still quiet and peaceful. Aside from a small backpack with a water bottle in it, Andy carried a Nikon camera around his neck. Not many people knew that capturing landscape photography was one of his hobbies, probably because he rarely had time to do it.

The gravel steps he anxiously climbed were picture perfect; however, once he got up to the lighthouse at the top of the hill he was given a unique shot of the ocean crashing along Cape Town's shore. He could not have picked a better day, the clouds were like wisps of smoke in the air across the bright blue sky. The water of the ocean contrasting in a royal blue hue. Grey rocks littered the shore leading up to the green land surrounding him.

As Andy headed back, he took out his phone to check the time. He still had that missed call from Norman, so he decided to call back.

"Sup, Normski."

"Andy, you handsome devil you." Norman cooed over the phone. He was always giving his friend compliments. "How's Africa, dude!?"

"Quite pleasant honestly. My mum was right about it being a beautiful place."

"Mom knows best. By the way, I'm mad at you for ignoring my call last night." Andy was going to lie and say he didn't watch the call go to voicemail, but Norman was extraordinarily well at telling when he was lying.

"Yeah, well I didn't get much sleep yesterday. Plus I had already stayed up messaging Danai . . ."

"Wait you talked to Danai last night? She send any nudes?"

"Are you crazy? Of course not. That would never happen." Andy let his foot toy with a small rock in front of him.

"Why do you like to play dumb like you don't already know she totally has the hots for you?"

"You don't know that for sure."

"You don't have to be in denial anymore, Andy. You're a single man, it's been eight months since the divorce."

"Please don't remind me, I'm not too fond of my prior single life. It's one of the reasons I got married. I'm not some twenty year old frat boy anymore."

"That is true, you are far from twenty."

"You asshole," Andy chuckled.

"I'm just saying, you should appreciate this for the gift that it truly is. You married Gael so quick, now you get to explore and sample a little bit of this, a little bit of that. You know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean, and I don't think my kids would appreciate you trying to turn their father into a whore."

Norman laughed heartedly, "Tell the kids Uncle Norman says hi by the way."

"I will. I'll talk to you later man."

"Later."

Hot water from the showerhead trickled down Andy's back. His mind was wrapped in thoughts about what Norman said about being a single man again. Although the thought wasn't quite appetizing, it was not like he had much choice. The worst part of being single was that awkward dance around someone trying to learn things about them and decipher if they matched with your own personal likes. He wanted something that came naturally, like what he had with . . . _with Danai_.

He chuckled to himself. Norman is crazy thinking Danai would ever send him nude photos, but he'd be lying if he said his mind did not wander to what she would look like completely undressed. They had a couple love scenes the past year and he got to grab her ass without her minding. Maybe he was crazy, but he thinks she even liked it. In one particular scene she was asked to give him a passionate kiss. So there he stood, in character, waiting for her lips to press against his, but once they did he could not help himself. He briefly took over the kiss, diving deeper into her mouth, pulling her closer to him so that no space was between them, gripping her ass. He could have sworn he felt the tip of her tongue quickly brush his lips before kissing the top and bottom separately, opening her eyes to stare into his. He was so thrown off he almost forgot to finish the scene by walking away.

Her lips were so soft. Her body felt so good against his. Andy immediately opened his eyes noticing he was biting his bottom lip and one of his hands had taken to stroking his hard length. _Shit, I can't think about my co-worker like this._ He swiftly turned the shower's water to cold.

Afterwards, he preoccupied his time by reading a book by his good friend, Melissa McBride. The title, _Falling Apart in One Piece: One Optimist's Journey Through the Hell of Divorce_ , it was completely fitting for how he viewed the first eight months of his divorce. With his reading glasses on he looked completely serious in contrast to the complete hilarity of the book's contents. The book was a memoir of the author's own dramatic divorce and how she dealt with it.

He had to have thought Gael up because she was calling him at that exact moment. She was the last person he wanted to talk to before bed but he figured whatever she wanted had to do with their kids, so he answered.

"Hello?"

Gael skipped right past greetings and said, "She won't go to sleep until she talks to you."

Before Andy could reply he heard sniffling and a higher pitched voice at the other end of the receiver. "Daddy, can you come back home?"

"Sweetheart, I will be back home soon."

"No, can you move back in with Arthur, mommy, and me?"

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because me and your mother are no longer together. Tilly, we talked about this."

"Please. Can't you just pretend to like each other so we can live together again?"

"Trust me, we, your mum and I spent several years pretending. We both would be much happier apart, but that doesn't mean that I won't ever see you. Just because your mum and I divorced does not mean I love you any less."

"But why do you hate mom?"

"I don't hate her . . ." He tried to use his words carefully, "I don't hate her, we're just upset at each other, but we'll get over it." Her silence told him that she still wasn't quite convinced. "You love your best friend Cindy right?"

"Yeah, she's the bestest friend ever."

"Exactly, but when Cindy comes to spend the night for several days you guys start to get in arguments and you're ready for her to go home, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well when you're married, you are stuck with your best friend every single day and they never go home. Some mommy's and daddy's are able to argue and make-up and others are tired of being best friends."

"So you and mommy aren't best friends anymore?"

"Correct, but we're still friends. We have to be because we share you and your brother. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, you and mommy were best friends but got tired of it so you got a divorce, and now you're just friends."

"Smart girl. Mommy and daddy not living together is a big change and it's okay to be sad sometimes, but just know that your mother and I love you and your brother very much."

His daughter sniffled once again, "Okay, I love you too."

"Goodnight sweetheart, and don't forget you and Arthur get to spend the week in Africa with me and my mom. Just two more weeks."

"I'm excited!"

"Me too."

"Goodnight, daddy."


	3. Testing

Andy spent the next two weeks fully submerged in the culture. Every two days he could take the hike up to Table Mountains. It took about an hour to get to the top, but the view was spectacular and each day he liked to try a different trail, capturing different aspects of nature with his camera. A few days he spent down on the beach reading and enjoying the sun. Women would walk by and wave at him with a flirtatious eye, but he kindly smiled and waved back not wanting to draw any more attention to himself.

At the end of this particular week, Andy decided to hit up the local marketplace. He was slow to at first, afraid that too many people would recognize him, but he wanted to see more of the city. As he walked down the cobbled pavement in his hat and thick black sunglasses he passed hundreds of wooden carts with locals selling merchandise, anything from food, to clothing, to jewelry you name it. He stopped briefly to purchase a kabob with springbok meat, which was a local delicacy, but when he turned around he was stopped in his tracks. There was a woman selling pop culture reference shirts and big as day was Danai's face as Michonne on a Walking Dead tee.

He took out his phone to take a picture and recognized a text notification from his former co-star Sarah Wayne Callies. Ever since she learned of his divorce she would message him more frequently, usually random pictures, anything to start a conversation. Andy wondered if she sometimes forgot she was married, or just did not care. Either way he was never interested, but was nice and would entertain her most times. He checked the message from her and it was a picture of her and her dog. He rolled his eyes and did not reply, instead he took a picture of himself smiling wide with the Michonne shirt and sent it to Danai.

He decided to have lunch in the city as well. As he sat down at the table of the busy restaurant he scrolled through the pictures in his camera. Then his phone rang in his pocket. It was Danai.

He immediately picked up his phone to answer "Hello?"

"Hey I got your picture."

"Yeah, you're quite the celebrity here. I think I saw one shirt with my face on it, and about ten with yours."

Danai chuckled, "What can I say? Michonne is loved world-wide, but especially in Africa."

"Yeah, I see. What are you up to?"

"Me? What am _I_ up to? Anything you're doing on vacation I guarantee is more exciting than anything I'm doing, but I'm finalizing some travel plans."

"Danai, I'm convinced your life is more entertaining than what you paint it to be." He smirked.

"Not at all." He could feel her smiling all the way in L.A.

"But where to?"

"Oh, Zimbabwe for a couple days. I have a ceremony for my organization. And of course I have to visit my parents."

"Let me guess, this is one of those trips you count as partially a vacation." He chuckled.

"Well, yeah. The ceremony is only one day. So the other days I'm there it's going to be with family."

"You should take me with you to Zimbabwe one day. You've been to my hometown, but I've never been to yours."

He thought back to rare moment after a U.K. convention for work. The rest of his American co-workers were out of their element, so he invited them all to his house. Everyone met his kids and wife. The kids were thrilled to see characters from t.v. come to life, however Gael made sure to stay out of everyone's way.

She would instead poke her head around corners when she noticed Andy and Danai go off to the family's garden. He later had to convince his wife that he was innocently showing off his plot of wheat grass that he growing as part of a bet in who's would grow the fastest with Norman. However Gael complained that they were doing a lot of laughing and touching for something that was supposed to be innocent.

"You're right, and I've met your mama several times. You haven't met my parents other than that one time you barged in on me Facetiming them."

Andy laughed hysterically, tears springing in his eyes. "That was a hell of a way to meet your dad especially since you were in your robe naked, and I was in my robe naked."

"I know," she said shaking her head.

"I bust through your trailer door like 'Are you ready?'

At this point Andy had her cackling, "I know, my dad's eyes got so big. He stopped speaking in English so you wouldn't understand him."

"Yeah! You never told me what he said. What did he say?"

"He said 'Is that white man your lover? He's all too comfortable barging into your room, especially when you're not properly dressed.' That's why I made you explain to him that we were prepping for a love scene."

"Oh my god, your dad must hate me. I've already made a horrible impression," he giggled.

"I'm sure you can use some of that Rick Grimes charm and get on his good side."

"Rick Grimes? Is that why you like me, for my Rick Grimes charm? What about my Andrew Lincoln charm?"

"I don't know, Andrew is kind of a goofball," she joked with him.

"You're cruel, you know that?" The waiter interrupted him, bringing his sandwich to the table, which he quickly took a huge bite out of. "So Zimbabwe, how soon?"

"A couple of weeks."

"I leave in a couple of weeks. You should come visit me in Cape Town first."

"Sounds interesting. I'll have to check my schedule first."

"Go ahead and pencil me in. I would love your company. The kids and mum will be here tomorrow throughout the week, but my last week here I'll be all by my lonesome," he pouted.

"Why can't you call Norman?"

"I did he's doing stuff for his restaurant. But even if he wasn't busy I couldn't invite him down here. You and I both know he's such a show pony. He'd have weird girls coming back to my suite and I'd walk into some weird party, all being broadcasted on his Snapchat. I don't need that type of scandal."

Danai giggled, "That definitely sounds like Norman. I can't make any promises, I'll let you know."

"Okay, I know you're busy so I'll let you go. Talk to you later."

"Later."


	4. Acceptance

Andy was awaken from his deep slumber, yet the sunlight came through the large glass windows. "Room service!" Andy smiled well aware that the voice sounded too high to be an adult, yet he played along.

"Coming," he yelled out as he strode towards the door with a head full of unruly curls.

He opened the door to his two children and mother all with exuberant smiles plastered on their faces. "You guys look a little young to be working in a hotel."

"Daddy!"

"Hi darlings. I missed you so much." He hugged and kissed both before getting up from his knees to hug his mother.

"Hey mum, how was the flight?"

"Tiring. Tilly here was so excited she decided to stay up during the whole flight, and then Arthur kept falling asleep on my shoulder."

"Nana, it's only because you make the best cuddles." Arthur piped up.

"This is true." Andy said, nodding at his mother.

His daughter was practically bouncing on her toes. "Daddy can we go to the beach?"

"I just woke up. Give me ten minutes to get changed and grab a banana. In the meantime you all can check out the place and put your bags in the room upstairs."

After getting properly prepped for the morning the foursome took a short drive to the busy beach. Andy and his mother watched the kids run across the hot sand, as they sat back in relaxed in sun chairs.

"I'm glad you took my advice to go on vacation." His mother slightly nodded from beneath her giant straw hat and black sunglasses.

"It was needed. How was Gael when you came to pick up the kids?"

"Same as usual, a micromanaging mess, as if I've never taken care of my own grandchildren before."

"Mum, is this disdain for Gael new or have I not noticed it before?" He could not help but chuckle at his mom's attitude.

"It's always been there, but now since you two aren't married anymore I can do it more openly. Don't worry, in front of the kids I think she is a saint."

"So you and dad saw this coming?"

"Yes and no. We were real concerned your first couple years of marriage. One minute you're away in Australia, the next you come home and are engaged, and less than a year later she's pregnant with that one." She pointed to his daughter that was now having her body buried in sand by her little brother. "But then you two seemed to get into the rhythm of things and your dad and I thought. Eh, okay maybe this'll work."

"When did you start to know it wasn't going to work?"

"When she started being condescending of your job. She hated when we talked about the show, she's completely bothered by Norman. I think at the beginning she forced herself to be okay with the gig, but you could see she started making excuses for why she couldn't make it to Atlanta, or something came up whenever there was a speaking engagement for you overseas."

"That's when our marriage was the most strained, but I held on for the kids. I really tried to make it work, but she was done by that point. You know Tilly called me last week crying asking me to come live back home?"

"That poor child. I know that just about broke your heart Andrew, but she'll be okay. Just like you, you'll be okay. You already look happier." She smiled proudly at her handsome son.

"Well yeah, you promised to cook tonight, there's no way I can be upset with that happening."

The woman laughed, "Remember you are never too old to be babied."

As promised, Andy's mother cooked a delicious meal, spaghetti bolognese, his favorite dish. The kids competed for their father's attention as they described their summer adventures. Gael was no stranger to travelling, so with the kids being a month out of school they had visited several places. That's one thing he could say about his ex-wife, their children were never bored.

Once their bedtime routine was complete, Matilda let her father know that she and Arthur promised to Skype with their mother before going to bed every night. The young girl rolled her eyes as her father went into a line of questions about what skype was and how to use it, then instructed Matilda to let him talk to Gael before she hung up. Andy watched from his children's bedroom door until she got her video chat connected with Gael. Arthur sat next to his sister so that he could be seen on the laptop screen. Once Gael answered, Andy left the room to give them their privacy.

About fifteen minutes later Matilda came down with the laptop so that Andy could talk to Gael. He initially wanted it to be a short conversation about the social media devices she was allowing Matilda and Arthur to use, but it somehow transpired into a heated argument. With Andy bringing up Gael's ambush phone call last week, calling it an asshole move. And her calling him predictably selfish for abandoning the kids for a vacation. Gael made it clear that she did not feel the need to talk to Andy for anything more than the whereabouts of their kids, yet it was not what he wanted. He wanted them to come off as a united front, rather than two people that hated one another. I guess that comes with time, he thought to himself before shutting his eyes.

The following morning, Andy took his kids on a jog up Table Mountain for the first time. Andy's mom chose to do some shopping down at the marketplace in the meantime. Although his daughter Matilda loved an outdoor adventure, she despised running of any sort, unlike her father and brother. "Dad, how many more miles until we get to the top?"

"Just two. Do you need a break?"

"Yes please!" She dramatically flopped onto a grassy patch, holding her water bottle firmly in her hand.

Andy joined his son sitting on a boulder just off the path. "I told Tilly, she could've went with grandma."

"But then she would've missed out on spending time with you. She always crying when you're away."

"About the divorce?"

"Yea, I try to tell her that things will be okay but she still thinks you and mum are going to get back together."

"I see. I'm sorry me and your mum are putting you two through this. I know it's tough."

"I'm fine with you and mum not being married anymore. It beats hearing you guys argue all the time. I know mum is happy, I know you're happy . . . but does that mean we'll have step parents?"

"Is your mum dating someone?"

"I don't know, but she hangs out with a lot more people. Some guys, some girls. I don't know if I'm ready to have a new dad."

"Well honestly it's not my business whether your mum dates or not but I'm sure that if someone is important enough, she will introduce them to you. Your mum and I went through a drastic life change and I think she just wants to have fun."

"Are you having fun?"

"This is my version of fun. Do you know how much time I get to relax and do something non-work related?"

"Not a lot."

"Exactly, so I'm enjoying myself, and it's even sweeter that I get to have you guys here with me."

Arthur stood to give his dad a giant hug. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go!"

The kids were asleep in their room upstairs while Andy and his mom enjoyed another round of popcorn with the addition of a bottle of wine on the living room couch. His mother requested her favorite movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. The older woman could not help but notice her son's phone lighting up every two minutes and his giant smile as he would reply back. After about the fifth time, she chose to stare at him until she had his attention.

He looked up from his phone shaken, "What?"

"If that's not Norman then it's gotta be a woman. Who is it?"

He paused before answering, "Danai." He glanced at the floor in an attempt to hide his burning cheeks.

"You know," his mother started between sips, "I always thought Danai would be a great match for you. She's smart, beautiful, hard-working, funny . . ."

"Mum, I know these things." He scratched his head, this was not the first time his mother brought up her fondness of his co-star.

"I know Andrew, married or not you've always given Danai a lot of praise. I remember your father and I were watching one of your interviews and you were downright giddy speaking about her and you were still married. I about had a heart attack when you claimed she licks you clean."

"Mum," his whole face was completely red. He shook his head.

"I'm just saying son. I had to think twice about claiming you after that one. Danai should've slapped you silly."

"Oh my God," he said, his hands covering his face. "I don't know what I was thinking. I'm glad she just laughed and that was that. Norman teased me for about a month straight."

"Myself, and everyone else see the way you two act around each other, but I'll let fate take its course."

"Mum, there's nothing going on between us. We have a respectful relationship," Andy pleaded.

"I know a smitten puppy when I see it, but I'll keep my mouth shut."

He definitely was not going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that the reason Danai was texting him so late was to tell him that her schedule was clear to see him next Friday. He was already starting to plan where he wanted to take her in his head.

"You are something else," he said, kissing his mother's cheek before resting his head on her shoulder.


	5. Philia

PART II.

 **Philia: deep friendship**

The slender beauty grabbed her suitcase from baggage claim and searched the area for a familiar face. She lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head once she ran across a white poster board with the message "Mrs. Grimes" written in marker. Danai beamed at Andy and he beamed right back.

Her initial plan was to stay at a hotel, but Andy insisted that she stay with him since he had the extra space and it would make being her tour guide simpler. She completely hesitated, knowing how it would look with her staying with this man that was a fairly new divorcé, someone she worked side by side with through a majority of the year, and a man that she found exceptionally attractive. Andy stood there in his black t-shirt, cargo pants, his favorite cougar hat, and thick black shades waiting for Danai to reach him _. He's such a dad, yet it's adorable._ She thought to herself.

When she got in front of him, she pulled him in for a hug. She missed seeing him every day on set and her summer had seemed quite lacking without having his goofy self to laugh at.

When she pulled away she pulled her glasses back down over her eyes and teased, "Mrs. Grimes huh? So does that mean you're paying for my lunch Mr. Grimes?"

He smiled, taking her luggage from her "Anything you want."

Danai and Andy settled on a restaurant closer into town that offered a wide selection of food. There were plenty dishes Andy recognized and plenty that he did not as he scoured his menu.

"What are you getting?"

"I'm thinking the fish and chips."

Danai glanced at him from above her own menu, "Fish and chips, Andy that is such the British choice."

"I'm that predictable," he questioned with a chuckle.

"Most of the time. Although it's delicious, you don't go to Africa for the fish and chips. You should try the Bobotie."

"Bah what?"

"It's pronounced buh-boor-tea. It's South Africa's national dish, it's beef topped with a layer of custard," Andy's face scrunched up trying to imagine the taste of the combo. Danai continued, "It sounds questionable but it's really delicious. I'm surprised your mom never made it for you."

"My mom probably has about five good dishes up her sleeve. My dad, oddly enough is the better cook, but I'll trust your judgement. What are you getting?"

"The cheeseburger." She burst into laughter at the shock and look of betrayal on Andy's face. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!"

"You're almost as worse as Norman, you know that right? Why do you get so much enjoyment out of teasing me like this?" He chuckled as Danai grabbed his am, gasping for breath. She really did love teasing him. He made it so easy and he was so reactive, she could not help herself around him. Danai had been doing it for years, so she thought Andy would have only expected it by now.

While they waited for their food they talked about everything from politics, to current events, to literature. Throughout her life she learned that some friends were better for particular situations, however Andy was the one person she could talk to about any and everything and she could depend on an intelligent response. When Andy was married she felt bizarre, having this eagerness to talk to this man at all hours of the day. He was already spoken for yet, she selfishly wanted him to herself.

She found his personality magnetizing and the energy they generated when together in a room was unmatched. It is hard being best friends with someone that is married, because technically that person is supposed to best friends with their own partner. Therefore, she tried to wedge some distance between them, so the urge was not as strong. She would only speak to him on set. At work dinners she would sit at the other end of the table. At interviews she would have another cast mate sit between them. She never wanted to give off the idea that anything more than a professional relationship was going on.

After their meal, Andy took her to his suite and showed her around.

Danai stood beside him as they walked through the door. "Wow Andy, this is pretty extravagant for your taste. You weren't kidding when you said you had room." Everyone that knew Andy was a simple guy that did not harp on material items.

"I figured why not?"

He stepped down the short stack of steps that lead into the open living room space. The walls undeniably a modern touch, with a floor to ceiling glass as the back wall that led out to a balcony pool. From inside Danai had a great view of Cape Town and the mountains off in the distance.

"Why do I have a feeling you haven't even used the pool yet?" She asked.

"Because you know me so well. Plus why swim in the pool, when the beach is right there?" He said, pointing out at the landscape.

"Well here you can swim in the privacy of your own home. Get naked if you want to," she shrugged before realizing what slipped out of her mouth. She could not get the image of Andy swimming naked out of her head.

"That sounds like a very Danai thing to do." His voiced raised an octave to mock her, "Excuse me while I swim naked, and sip champagne as I read Shakespearean plays."

Danai slapped his chest and giggled, "That is so not me."

"Yes it is. You're fancy."

"Maybe a little bit."

He continued back inside the suite to the kitchen. Danai stopped in her tracks when she spotted three unopened bottles of wine sitting on the counter.

"This is your last weekend and haven't even touched those bottles?'

"I didn't buy them. They were compliments of the hotel."

"We're definitely getting through one of those tonight."

"Be my guest."

"Your room's up here. Andy pointed to the staircase that protruded from a corner of the living room up to another level. He carried her suitcase in one hand and Danai closely followed behind. "The kids shared this room last week, but I had room service thoroughly come clean. Your bathroom should have fresh towels, but let me know if there's something else you need."

She spun around slowly taking in the warm beach-themed décor of the room. "Pretty nice. Thank you. I'm going to take a shower and meet you downstairs in a little bit."

"Sounds good, "Andy said, turning and walking out the bedroom door.


	6. Ludus

**Ludus: playful love**

Danai was finding it hard to focus on the movie playing. Andy had talked her into watching the newest installment of Jurassic Park which Danai argued because she despised scary movies. She had not appreciated him laughing at her, promising that the movie was not scary at all. _He's a damn lie, I saw the first one and nearly pissed my pants._

To avoid the first impending jump scare, she fixated on his face in the dark. When she first met him his hair was a deep chestnut brown, now it was undeniably white. Well at least the beard was, the hair on his head had only started greying at the temples. Either way he was a gorgeous man. The bright tv screen reflected across his blue eyes, the skin around his eyes wrinkling as he laughed. _I wonder how long it's been for him._ She thought to herself, but quickly shook the thought away. _That's none of my damn business._

She grabbed for her wine glass and took a couple big gulps, before pulling her blanket tightly over her shoulders. Andy was sitting so close without touching her, yet she could feel the heat emitting from his body. She was not sure how he would react if she cuddled up to him for warmth. He kept the place freezing and she didn't think to bring any socks or pants for that matter.

She gently leaned her head on his shoulder, causing him to ask, "You're not falling asleep are you?"

"I'm not, I promise," she giggled.

"Then what's that lady's name," he asked pointing to a red-head on the screen.

"Uh . . ." she had been too busy analyzing his face to catch any details in the movie.

"Danai, even my mom is a better movie date than you." His attention had fully turned towards her.

"I promise I'm not usually this bad," she giggled, then sat up to grab the remote. "You know what'll keep my attention?"

"What?"

"If we watch one of your movies," she beamed.

"This sounds like cruel and unusual punishment. You know I don't like to watch my own work."

"I know but it was so long ago it doesn't even matter anymore. I'll let you choose."

Andy rolled his eyes, "Fine, but I'm going to need some wine for this."  
"Coming right up." Danai practically lept from the couch to grab an extra wine glass for him. She knew Andy rarely drunk alcohol for personal reasons, therefore she never pressured him to do so.

When Danai reentered the room she heard a quirky theme song going. "Hey, this isn't a movie."

"You said my choice. If I'm going to embarrass myself I'd at least like it to be a comedy rather than some drama."

"Fair enough," she shrugged, taking her previous next to him. Other than a generous laugh here and there Danai stayed quiet, completely drawn into the story of the show. She knew of Andy's work but she had not watched this series before. She liked it so much she convinced Andy to let the next episode play. His tense stance on the matter had softened, especially in seeing her so engaged. In the middle of another sip of wine, Danai almost did a spit-take. Andy's bare bottom was front in center on the large tv screen.

"Andy your butt! And is that, dare I say it, your ball sack?" Danai threw her head back in laughter. His cheeks tinged red. "Andy you had no shame!"

"It's the UK, there's no shame in nudity whatsoever," he pressed his lips together, attempting to qualm his hot cheeks.

"I don't know why I'm surprised. You love to be naked. They probably had to pay you to keep your clothes on."

"You just don't stop, do you?" he chuckled. She could tell he was still embarrassed. Again she grabbed his arm, gasping for breath. "You know what, how about we watch one of your nude scenes," he said reaching for the remote.

"No!" Her eyes widened, yet she could not contain her laughter. He twisted his body away from her, searching for her movie. She lunged towards him trying to grab the remote, but had already selected the movie.

"Oh my God, this is embarrassing," she said as she buried her head into his shoulder. He used his free arm to fast forward right to the love scene. _How did he know exactly where the love scene was?"_ Danai peaked at herself in the intimate scene through the gaps between her fingers.

"It was great when the laughter was at my expense, huh?" He smirked down at her.

"This scene isn't as embarrassing as it was awkward." She groaned.

"Why was it awkward?"

Danai scoot back and tucked her feet beneath her bottom, twirling the corner of her blanket around her finger as if ready to divulge a secret. "Because my co-star was a tad bit more attracted to me, than I was to him."

Andy looked amused, "Okay, that's normal."

Danai briefly scratched her head before adding, "Yeah, but when it was time to film the scene on the bed, his modesty sock kept moving because he was, you know . . . excited. So we had to stop rolling footage every two minutes to fix it." Now Andy was the one with his head thrown back in a fit of laughter. "Andy, it's not funny, it was traumatizing."

He tried to calm himself enough to get words out. "Danai, is that why you were so nervous to do a bed scene with me?"

"Yes and no." It was true that she was nervous, however her level of attraction to Andy was not an issue. At least not for her. "Since that incident I'm nervous to do any nude scenes."

"That is hilarious." Danai's body became hypersensitive to the brief feel of Andy's hand on her naked thigh. Instead of addressing it, she laughed it off.

There were plenty of times where Danai felt bold enough to reciprocate his touches but it was always under the guise of her character Michonne, or so she thought. Playing lovers on-screen had certainly created blurred lines for the pair. In between takes she would find Andy's hand at the small of her back. She would subconsciously reciprocate by stroking his arm as set workers put final touches on their next scene. At the time, Danai thought nothing of their physical closeness, their characters were in love and on set they would act as such until the day of filming had come to a close. But here she was her flesh burning under his touch and no character to hide behind.

His voice broke her thoughts. "I'll never understand why nudity is such a big deal in America."

"Yeah, I don't know," she shrugged, her vision still caught on the hand placed at her thigh.

There was a moment of silence, then Andy suggested, "We should probably get some sleep. I want to take you up the mountains tomorrow." _Did this man just say he wanted to take me on a mountain? No wait, he meant take me to the mountains. Girl you're tripping! Just nod, just nod and walk away._

She followed her own advice and nodded, walking towards the staircase to her bedroom. "Goodnight," she threw over her shoulder, as she her blanket dragged on the floor.


	7. Ludus cont

Danai watched Andy's back as he jogged a couple feet ahead of her. "You passed out back there?" He joked, and turned his head to see just how far back she was.

"Not yet!" She yelled between breaths. Andy jogged circles around her as she hunched over, grabbing for her water bottle. "You are insane. I thought we were going to walk, not jog."

"Danai you know I jog every morning. And didn't you say you used to run track?" he chuckled.

"Yeah, back in college. And I didn't know you were casually jogging up mountains Andrew."

"You sound like my daughter," he laughed. "We have one more mile and we'll be at the top. C'mon." He slapped her butt and wasted no time jogging up the hill, shortly glancing back with a childish grin on his face.

Her face froze in shock. _He finds this amusing._ _Two can play this game._ She ran after him and jumped on his back. He wobbled trying to catch his footing, instinctively gripping her thighs to hold her in place. "You're carrying me up this mountain," she ordered. She reached behind her to slap his butt.

"I'll carry you a little bit, not the whole way. But I'll have you know, even with the complaints, Tilly was able to make it up the mountain herself."

"Uh, I've seen your daughter's muscles, she's got me beat."

After several complaints more and Andy literally pushing her forward, the two made it to the top of the mountain. There were others sight-seeing, taking pictures of the landscape. Andy joined them, digging out his camera from his backpack. Meanwhile Danai took a seat on a nearby rock, catching her breath.

As Andy walked near her, Danai broke their silence, "Have you not gotten enough pictures from the other times you were up here? I thought you hiked up here every other day."

"I have. But I don't know, each time I've found something fascinating. I also went up a different trail each time, so I can assure you no two pictures in this camera are the same."

"Let me see," she reached for the camera and began scrolling through recent pictures. Andy sat next to her. Their thighs touching slightly from close proximity. He split his attention between looking at the pictures with her and peering over the edge of the wall they sat at.

"You know, I never would've known that you were into photography. What other hidden talents do you have? I swear you're good at everything," she teased.

He had captured the mountains expertly, with the bright cloudy sky framing the top of the image and the curve of the shoreline down below. He captured some dandelions that they passed on the way up, but then she stopped when she ran across a stunning image of her own profile. It had to have been while they were taking a break. She was standing tall, hands on her hip, head up to the sky, eyes closed.

Feeling flattered, yet bashful she said, "I didn't know you took a picture of me."

Andy brought his attention back towards the camera and smiled. "There's more."

She hit the next button to find an image of her behind. She was bent halfway over, hands on her knees, catching her breath. Her face changed to a look of annoyance.

"What? That's my favorite one." He said with a cheeky grin.

Danai slapped his arm. "Is that why you told me to get in front? So you could stare at my ass?"

"I wasn't staring at your ass the whole time," he laughed.

"I'm starting to think Rick's fascination with my ass is no coincidence."

"I plead the fifth," he mumbled under his breath.

Not having a comeback, Danai blushed and turned away from him momentarily before adding, "I have a surprise for you."

"Please don't tell me Norman's hiding in the bushes nearby." He reached to take back his camera.

"No, but you know you'd love that," she giggled. "I already talked to your assistant, you're free to travel with me to Zimbabwe," her eyes faltered, "if you want."

His eyes glimmered, "Of course I'd love to go with you! You know I've been talking about that for some time. When do we leave?"

 _This went so much better than I thought it would._ "In the morning. My brother offered to pick us up from the airport and taking us to my parents' house, they're back home for the summer."

"They know I'm coming?" Andy asked in shock.

"Yeah, you don't think I would just ambush them do you? My mother would beat me if invited a guest to her unkempt house. She's completely dramatic."

Andy chuckled, "This is wonderful," pulling her into a hug. "I still have one more place to take you today, you up for it?"

"Yea," she answered while nodding.

They circled the top of the mountain before descending the dirt trail. Danai hoped that putting on sunglasses would hide her bursting excitement, and maybe it was the increase of endorphins from their excursion, but despite his profuse sweating she desired his closeness. She clutched at the back of his shirt until they were safely on flat land again, but he not once complained as his hand had rested comfortably on her hip.


	8. Eros

**Eros: sexual passion**

Andy and Danai took a shuttle forty-five minutes up the coast to a vineyard called Babylonstoren. The land had a long reputation of being a mixture of both traditional and modern. The vineyard actually doubled as a fully functioning farm, with the majority of the land holding a vegetable and fruit garden so expansive that tour guides were needed. Also connected to Babylonstoren was a four star restaurant and a hotel a couple more miles down the road.

Their tour guide, Jenny, met them in front of the barn, then led the way, giving them a history of the farm and all its cultivation. As they walked through the garden, with the guide's back turned, Andy would try to be sly and purposely bump into Danai. Which then became a game of love taps and playful pinching between them before Jenny would turn back around. The last time they quickly seceded, their fingers hastily locking together to obscure their childish flirting.

Jenny slowly raised an eyebrow, yet proceeded in giving them each a small wicker basket to collect fruits from the garden to their liking. She instructed them to walk down the large dirt path in the middle of the plots when they were ready to come back and dine in the restaurant.

Danai broke away from Andy to pluck a few blackberries from their plant, popping them into her mouth and smiling at the familiar tangy taste. She turned around to notice Andy scowling at his phone.

"What's wrong?" Danai asked, licking remnants of fruit juice from her lips.

"Nothing, I don't think my assistant completely understood me when I said I didn't want any emails while I was on vacation, but it's paperwork for my new place so perhaps she didn't really have a choice." He said, putting his phone back into his pocket.

"Oh you finally settled on a place?" Beforehand, they had briefly discussed him moving out and trying to find a new house, which was tricky since he was still in the U.S. filming at that time. On top of that, Andy was quite the picky customer.

"Yea, I did. I would like to say it was a solitary decision but Gael wanted to ensure that I was close but not too close to her and the kids. And then she wanted to see the potential kids' bedrooms in each house. If she didn't approve, I moved on to the next house. Believe it or not, she's more fussy than myself."

 _Oh, I believe it._ "Mhm." Danai nodded. She always tried to avoid giving her opinions on Gael or his marriage out of respect.

"It's odd. We're not together but I still have to do things to make her happy. " He corrected himself. "Well, I attempt to. If she's happy, my children are happy and that ultimately makes me happy."

"It takes a self-less person to do that Andy. You shouldn't be so critical of yourself and your decisions. Although, you don't quite say it, it shows." Danai diligently pulled at strawberries that were low to the ground, her basket already halfway full.

"What can I say, I'm a work in progress." He rubbed at his forehand, glancing down and chuckling slightly at his empty basket.

"As we all are." She was not aware, but Andy studied her full lips wrapping around a strawberry bud and sucking at the excessive juices.

He collected himself and grabbed her free hand once again. "Come on, let's go back before you eat all the fruit." She wasn't sure when their hand holding had become a steady thing, but she was certainly enjoying it.

Once they got through the garden, they followed the path up to the vineyard's indoor restaurant. The place was sleek with white walls, and elaborate light fixtures. Jenny was waiting there to seat them at their stark white table-clothed, intimate table. The lighting in the dining area was low so that they could look out and see the sun setting over the mountains through the giant glass wall. They waited for their meal, marveling at the view and making small conversation until their waitress, a college aged-woman dressed in a white blouse and black slacks appeared.

After introducing herself, the waitress stated, "Mulondo, compliments of the owner." The owner, an older woman with a head full of white fluffy hair waved back at the pair from behind the restaurant's tall front desk. The waitress followed by pouring the dark wine into their glasses. "Your salad will be served soon," she said, before walking away.

"That's nice of her," Andy said raising the wine glass from the table.

Through a clenched smile Danai warned, "Andy don't drink that." She knew the owner still had a watchful eye on them.

"Why what's wrong with it," he paused with the glass mid-air, swirling it around to get a closer look.

"Don't drink it." Her head lowered to her lap for a chuckle to escape.

Andy lowered his voice to a whisper. "Is she trying to poison us?"

Her voice matched his, "No, Mulondo is a well-known African aphrodisiac." She stopped to chuckle again, seeing his eyebrows shoot up. "It's also known for assisting in male fertility."

His eyes grew massively wide. "You're kidding?"

"Not at all," Danai shook her head. "She's trying to set us up."

Andy giggled and covered his mouth, "Oh shit. Danai, we already accepted it. We can't _not_ drink the wine." He glanced over his shoulder to see the owner watching them with a giant grin. "Look at her, she's staring at us. We gotta drink it. I don't think she'll leave until we do."

She agreed and raised her wine glass in a toast. "To an interesting night."

"An interesting night indeed."

And an interesting night it was. Throughout the rest of dinner Andy and Danai were brought different wines to taste. They figured if they started with an edge they may as well continue to accept whatever the owner was offering. At some point throughout their dinner, their chairs had moved from across the table to right next to each other. They ate from one another's plates and shared food from one another's forks like old lovers.

At the end of their meal the owner came over to offer them a stay in her hotel nearby, but Andy declined, explaining that they were leaving in the morning and needed to get back to their suite to pack. The ride back on the shuttle they fell asleep side by side with their fingers intertwined. The driver woke them up once they were back outside the hotel in Cape Town and they fumbled and giggled their way to the elevator. When they entered the suite, Andy kissed her on the top of her head and parted ways to their separate rooms. He had collapsed in the middle of the bed, until he heard a knock at his door.

"Come in," he groaned. He leaned his head towards the door so he did not have to lift his whole body from the bed. He wore a dopey smile at the sight of Danai in his doorway.

Her words slurred a little bit from her tired and tipsy disposition. "Yea so, I almost busted my ass trying to make it up the stairs." They both giggled.

"Sleep in here." His words were muffled from maneuvering his face deeper into his pillow, as he scoot over to give her some room in the large bed.

She obliged, climbing on all fours to the top of the bed, and they both quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"Andy I told you not to drink that wine," Danai giggled. "Wait, wait!" She gasped as she felt Andy passionately devouring her delicate folds. His large hands gripped at her hips in an attempt to curtail her wriggling beneath him. Her center oozed in pure delight, gifting his warm tongue with sweet nectar. Her plump lips cooed out his name like it was her favorite song. "Andy, Andy, oh my God." Sweat beads rolled from her bare chest down to the valley of her navel. She was getting closer and closer, the waves of ecstasy crashing through her harder and harder each second. "Oh fuck!" She yelled.

Danai's eyes popped open, finding herself in Andy's bed alone, fully-clothed in the same outfit from the trip to the vineyard, yet sweating with a heavy dampness between her thighs. "Holy shit," she whispered to herself.


	9. Agape

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait y'all. I'm just going to go ahead and respond to some general reviews, y'all had me cracking up. This story is definitely a slow-burn, I wanted it to be very realistic so I was very intentionally about pacing it the way it is. Y'all waited 3 seasons for Richonne, y'all can wait a couple chapters for the smut lmao. And yes with this story, I tried to do as much research as I could on the culture of South Africa and Zimbabwe. Speaking of that, there will be some Shona (Zimbabwean language) that comes up.**

 **Baba = father**

 **Sisi = sister**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

PART III.

 **Agape: universal love**

As planned, Danai's brother picked the pair up from the airport. He had a fun personality, welcoming Andy with a big smile, and cracking jokes on his baby sister as they drove through the city traffic. His fun nature only did little to calm Andy's nervousness. His palms were sweaty as they drew nearer to Danai's parents' house. In order to remain discreet, he messaged Danai from the back seat. Her phone vibrated in her lap, and when she saw it was from Andy she quickly tilted the screen away from her brother. It was obvious that whatever he wanted, he did not feel comfortable to say it front of her brother.

 _ **On a scale of one to ten, how bad does your father want to strangle me?**_

 _ **Why are you nervous? We're just visiting for a couple of days. It's not like you're taking me to prom, relax.**_

 _She's right, it can't be too bad if her parents are allowing me to stay in their home._ _But then again if her father knew anything about what happened last night he would probably feel differently_.

Half-awake, Andy had sought out the warm presence next to him. As he rolled over his hand landed on a particularly soft spot, he squeezed the softness a couple times relishing the feel between his fingers. Silky skin swept across his lips, he nuzzled his face deeper enjoying the warmth. The sound of a moan, ignited his other senses. His eyelids peeled open and he found himself cradling Danai, his hand on her plump bottom, beard tucked between her neck and shoulder, her face two inches from his own. Horrified, Andy slowly slid his body away from her, and thanked God that despite his assault she slept soundly. He grabbed a pillow and crept out the room to go sleep on the couch. Apparently being that close to her was too tempting even in a subconscious state.

The car came to a stop and standing from the porch waving excitedly was Danai's mother, Josephine. "Dede, Dede, my baby, we're so glad to see you!" _Dede?_

Danai looked over to him, "Dede is my family nickname." She muttered. Andy nodded and followed her to the door. He was surprised when Josephine reached for him and gave him a hug like he was a long lost relative, her father Roger, on the other hand, met Andy with a stern handshake.

Josephine had to pry their guest away from Danai as she offered to show Andy around the house. From the moment they stepped in the house, Danai's mother had noticed them fumbling around each other awkwardly. He would grab for her hand, and she would brush it away. He would stare at her, but she could barely keep eye contact with him longer than five seconds, yet she stayed glued to his side. One could easily pass off Danai's hovering as being protective, but the strange way they were interacting was telling her otherwise. On top of that, as the four of them sat at the table, Josephine and Roger watched their daughter help Andy prepare his plate, explaining the different dishes and passing plates to him patiently like a doting wife. The whole night she showered him with compliments, as would Andy and they giggled and smiled at each other every now and then.

"Andy, how is your wife and kids?" Roger asked, mainly focused on cutting into his steak. "You are married, right?" _Damn, he's sizing me up. He must really think Danai and I have been intimate._ He blushed at the revelation. _Fuck, he's going to give me a hard ass time._

"The kids are great and yes I was married for eleven years, but I've been divorced almost a year now." The collar of his shirt automatically felt like it was suffocating him.

Her father bobbed his head before stating, "Wow eleven years, that's a long time to suddenly get divorced, especially with two kids involved. What happened?"

"Roger!" Josephine scolded, frowning at her husband.

"Baba!" Danai dropped her fork on the table, eyes wide in her father's direction.

"What Dede? I'm curious." The older man glanced at Andy before continuing to cut at the food on his plate.

Andy cleared his throat, "It's alright Danai. My ex-wife and I got to a point where the vision for our lives was becoming strikingly different and neither of us wanted to compromise."

"She didn't like your line of work?" Danai's father pried once again.

"She didn't mind at first, but she hated that I was away from home majority of the time. The more successful I became, the higher demand I would be in the states, and Gael absolutely hated that."

Her father seemed intrigued. "She wasn't willing to move?"

"Not permanently. She's very close with her family back home in the UK."

Roger looked up from his plate, directly at Andy. "That's an unfortunate situation. Marriage isn't a silly game, it should be intentional."

* * *

 _Knock, knock._

"Come in," Andy answered. The door swung open and Danai stood at the frame in a pair of sweats and an oversized t-shirt. Something about mapping out all her curves in his imagination got his blood pumping.

"My mom sent me down to ask if you were okay on sheets?" Her hands rested in her sweat pockets.

"Yeah, tell her I'm fine, thank you." He fluffed the pillows at the head of the bed to distract himself from his less than amicable thoughts. He too had changed into his pajamas and did not want his arousal making a guest appearance.

"Okay," she scratched at her arm. "Um, Andy, I'm really sorry about my dad. I don't know what got into him."

Andy gave a firm smile. "I could only hope I'm as reserved as your father when Tilly brings home a boyfriend."

Danai's gaze fell to floor. "Y-yeah, so tomorrow a car is coming to pick us up at nine am for the ceremony."

"I'll be ready."

"Okay goodnight," Danai said. Her stuttering and lack of eye contact did not go unnoticed.

* * *

Over the years, Andy was well aware of Danai's effortless humanitarian work. She had briefed him in the car that the speech she was editing a few weeks prior was to address the end of another successful school year for the school she helped open. She also informed him that this was one of seven schools she had helped ground break with her foundation. Danai had this extraordinary quality of empathy, which allowed her to submerge herself in fighting for worldly issues. It was something he envied. It made him think twice about whether or not he was a good person or if he made any significant contributions to humanity.

He watched her orate and was enamored; he loved hearing her speak. Not only did she give words of wisdom, but she was also witty and it was cute as hell. He looked over to the auditorium of middle school girls as they listened to Danai attentively. He could tell that she was a major influential figure for them. To say she was an angel on earth was an understatement.

Afterwards, a lunch ceremony was held for families, students, and stakeholders. Young girls loitered around the table, wanting to impress Danai with their grades and accomplishments. A few girls gave speeches of how the school gave them an opportunity to learn. Danai looked on like a proud parent, tears threatening to fall. He reached for her hand under the table and lightly squeezed, she tensed, but held on.

On the car ride back, they both sat in the backseat fairly quiet. Danai's skittish behavior was becoming more and more of a concern for him. Although groping Danai in the middle of the night was not his intent, he would be lying if he did not savor the strings of events leading up to it. Them getting to hang out alone, without the perplexity of his marriage, or work relationship managed for him affirm his unbridled desire for her. Danai on the other hand, seemed to be taking a step back. _Maybe she wasn't asleep after all._

Andy looked over to her. "Danai, that speech amazing."

"Thank you." She glanced at him, before turning her attention toward the car window. He slid his hand towards hers and she pulled away.

Andy kept a low voice so that the driver wouldn't hear, "I think we need to talk about the other night."

Before she could answer, the car had stopped and the driver opened the door for them. She picked up with her response. "I don't think that's such a go-." The strong smell of food hit both of their nostrils. "-wait, it smells like braai, barbecue." Danai walked through the front door, her voice echoed. "Mommy? Baba? Are you guys cooking?" Andy and Danai went around the foyer, the smell piquing their curiosity.

"Surprise!" they heard.


	10. Storge

**Storge: familial love**

Danai's family members traveled back and forth from the kitchen to the outside deck, holding various plates and cups. Music was being played as kids ran around the backyard. Andy was still recovering from his awkward introduction to Danai's extended family. The majority of them taking his intro as Danai's coworker and friend at face value until her young cousin revealed that Andy played her love interest. Danai's aunt, especially took an interest to it asking in front of everyone if he and Danai were dating. Out of habit he declined the notion, yet he looked over at Danai fidgeting and trying to worm herself out of the conversation.

A couple of minutes later Andy found himself standing at the grill with Roger. The stern man had asked for his help, yet Andy was concerned that Roger was going to further interrogate him. He glanced over to Danai, hovering around the kitchen, talking to the women of her family. His attention was drawn back to the grill when Roger cleared his throat.

"Sorry for getting into your personal business the other day." Roger's eyes were preoccupied by the pieces of meat browning above the large open flame.

"Oh no, I completely understand. No hard feelings." Andy held onto an aluminum pan for the finished meat to go into.

"My wife said I was rude. I assure you that wasn't my intention." He simply nodded as Roger continued, "Although this is our first chance at meeting formally, my Dede is constantly raving about your acting skills, and your commitment to your work . . ."

Roger fumbled with a pair of silver tongs flipping over a row burgers. ". . . She's very smitten with you." If not attached to the socket, Andy's eyeballs would've popped out of his head; utter shock glued his mouth shut. "She just won't admit it. Her mother and I try not to pry, but I felt like she was setting herself up to get her feelings hurt. That is of course before I knew that you were divorced." Roger glanced over at Andy, slightly amused by the genuine shock on his face. He chuckled, "I see the way you look at my daughter. I'd be a fool to not realize that you harbor some feelings for her as well."

Andy slightly nodded.

"You are both adults, but I still have to inform you, if you hurt my princess I'll kick your ass." Roger burst into laughter while Andy chuckled nervously, fully believing his threat.

After Roger relinquished him, Andy gathered his own plate of food. Danai's brother called him over to sit at the table with the rest of Danai's siblings and their significant others, ironically the only open chair being right next to Danai. He was still digesting the new information from her father, yet it amused him a bit to see how tense she'd become when he was near. As he got comfortable, two of the women introduced themselves as Danai's big sisters, Choni and Shingai.

Andy felt quite at ease conversing with Danai's family members. People went back in for more food, while Roger had brought out the drinks. The kids had deserted the yard, Choni urged them to watch a movie inside so that the adults could be adults. Danai stayed mostly mum, avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially Andy. Her father's notion that she had secret feelings for him excited him.

Just then a song came through the speakers that caused Choni to scream. "Shingai, Dede, this is our song!" Andy watched Danai immediately perk up.

"Yes, remember our little dance we made up when we were kids?" Danai smiled.

Choni got up from the table, swinging her arms in the air. "Dede, come on help me out!"

Danai giggled, "Choni, that's all you." Choni shook her head and grabbed her baby sister by the wrists.

"Don't count me out, I can still move with this belly." Shingai complained, using her husband's shoulder as leverage so she could join her sisters out on the freshly cut lawn.

Andy had seen Danai all but sway back and forth at cast parties so he was curious to find out how well she really danced. The sisters bounced their knees to the beat, waiting for the chorus to kick in. Once given the cue by Choni, they all kicked their feet swiftly, their shoulders shifted and their hands clapped in unison. It was evident that they performed this dance a lot as their memory did not fail them. When the routine ended they broke out into giggles.

"We're getting old," Choni grabbed her back.

"Speak for yourself sisi, I'm still in my prime," Danai said.

"Y'all can battle this out amongst yourselves. My pregnant ass needs to sit down." Shingai said as she waddled back over to her seat by her husband.

The couple of drinks Choni and Danai had earlier began to loosen them up even further. The moment the song changed to a popular Zimbabwean slow wind song, Choni's hips instinctively began to move. It seemed as though a memory popped into her head, so yelled to her sister, "Shingai, remember when you tried to teach Dede how to wind with the boy next door?"

The pregnant woman broke out into a fit of loud giggles. Danai playfully pouted. "Baba about burst a blood vessel when he caught the three of us in backyard practicing on the fence."

Choni turned to Danai, "We weren't allowed to go to any school dances after that. You never did learn, did you?"

Danai scoffed, "Uh yeah, who didn't learn how to slow wind at some point?"

Choni's eyes gleamed, "Prove it."

"Wha-" Danai froze.

"Andy, come here!"

"Choni!" Danai spat through clenched teeth.

"What Danai, you can't slow wind without a partner. Chill, I won't leave you hanging." At their request, Andy walked towards the sisters, a puzzled look on his face. "Andy, dance with Danai."

"Oh, I'm not much of a dancer." He answered startled.

"That's okay, you just stand there and look cute, Danai will take care of you." Choni winked at her blushing sister.

Choni turned towards the table they were previously sitting at, "Baby come over here and dance with me." Her husband got up and grabbed her waist, she grinned teasingly at her sister as he pulled her away from Andy and Danai. Andy was too preoccupied with giving the beauty in front of him a once-over to notice.

After sighing, Danai grabbed his hand, leading him towards the tall wooden fence. "I'll take it slow."

"You know you don't have to do this?" Andy chuckled.

"I know, but now I have a point to prove." Her competitive nature peeking out from it's dormant spot.

Danai motioned for him to stand with his back against the fence. She backed up on him pressing her bottom against his front and her hips began to wind in a figure eight motion. In that moment, he was glad her parents were back inside the house because he could not help but stare at her ass moving against him. _Fuck._ "What am I supposed to do with my hands," he asked.

"You can put them on my hips if you want." Her fingers softly wrapped around his to place his right hand at the curve of her hips. It took everything in him not to grip her. Her scent of coconut oil and vanilla lured him into rubbing his thumb against the exposed skin that escaped from her silk blouse. His other hand down to grip her thick thigh. She responded by pressing harder against him. _She likes it, she's getting cocky._

She asserted his thought, turning her head slightly over her shoulder to give him a naughty smirk. Her hand traveled behind them both, sliding behind his neck to grab his curls. He was less concerned about the groan coming out of his mouth as he was with the hardness growing in his pants.

Andy quickly scanned the yard and saw that Choni and her husband had moved back to the table talking amongst themselves, Shingai was sitting on her husband's lap with a rib in her hand, and the rest of Danai's family were inside playing cards. With no one paying them attention, Andy decided to slowly glide his hand up her torso to grab her breast.

Danai swung around to face him, cupping his face. "Andy!", she giggled, a bit stunned at his advance.

"You've been holding back on me. I knew you could dance," he peered down at her ass, his eyes lifting in a mischievous manner, "but not like _that_." She threw her head back in laughter, then buried her head in his shoulder. Time flew by as the two held each other in an embrace and swayed side to side, he discreetly peppered her exposed neck in kisses. His hands eventually ventured to rubbing and cupping her ass, enjoying her girlish giggle.

"Dede, we're leaving!" Danai popped her head up from Andy's shoulder to see her sisters and their husbands at the kitchen door.

"Coming!" she yelled back. She jogged towards the house so she could go in and say goodbye to everyone, Andy had to hang back a couple of minutes trying to will away his erection.

* * *

After everyone left, the house buzzed with quietness. Andy and Danai stood in the middle of the guest hallway holding hands, holding onto their last few moments before they had to separate.

Danai looked at him through lowered lashes, "We both have a plane to catch tomorrow so I'll let you get packing. Goodnight." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he kicked himself watching her walk up the staircase to her bedroom.

As soon as Andy closed the guest bedroom door behind him, his anxious thoughts began racing. He wanted to go down to her room and knock on the door, but what reason would he have for the intrusion? I would happily admit I want her, but she's hesitant. I don't want to push her away. Plus her parents are upstairs, that would be horrible if they caught me up there in her room.

Yet, the sudden loss of her touch and voice threatened to push him into a risky decision. For the past four years Andy had denied the sexual tension around he and Danai. He always brushed it off as good acting chemistry, yet that did not explain the nights he spent up wondering what she was doing, or wanting to talk just to hear her voice. She was such a charming woman that Andy never realized how their interactions were set apart from hers with other actors. People around them would note it, yet he never believed them. He never wanted to stick around to see her flirtations with other men in fear that his jealousy would rear it's ugly head, that should have been a sign that he was falling for her right then.

Andy talked himself down, agreeing instead on taking a much needed shower. Afterwards, he changed into a white t-shirt and thin pajama bottoms; however, his thoughts were as loud as they were before. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep with his thoughts screaming at him the way they were. He put on his reading glasses and picked up a book, sitting in a chaise chair across from the bed.

The pages helped him escape from his own world for a little while until he heard a soft knock on his door. He quickly looked at the clock on his nightstand which shown that two hours had passed.

When he opened the door Danai was two feet from him, looking as if she were about to walk away.

"Danai?" _Is my mind playing tricks on me?_

"Andy, uh . . ." Danai looked completely flustered which was odd since she was the one to knock on his door.

"Do you want to come in?" He stepped aside to gesture into the small bedroom.

She scratched her neck and fidgeted with her finger. "I'm sorry for bothering you."

"It's truly fine, I was up reading. Come in." She took a seat on the guest bed while he occupied the chaise he was formerly reading in. She watched him run his fingers through his hair before he asked, "Is everything alright?"

Her stare fixated on the carpet before looking into his blue eyes. "I thought it'd be obvious why I'm here, but now I don't know what to say, so I'm just gonna get outta here." Danai began lifting herself from the seat until Andy protested.

"No! Please stay." _It's now or never._ "I don't know about you, but I just spent the past two hours trying to come up with any reasonable excuse for you to sleep next to me tonight. I'm not lonely by any means but it's all I've wanted to do since you came to see me. So I'm truly shocked that you showed up at my door, almost two nights in a row."

Andy almost relented, her silence making him think that he offended her. "I'm sorry, I just sounded like an ass." He covered his red face in his hands.

He was shocked to hear her giggle. "No, come here," she smirked, patting the bed.

She pulled back a corner of the bed cover and climbed in. Andy followed her lead placing his glasses and book at the side table before pulling back the other side of the cover and climbing in facing her. She turned off the bedside lamp and snuggled up to Andy's chest. At that moment his body seemed to take over while his brain took a backseat. He pulled her closer, needing to feel every inch of her warmth. Danai's foot found its comfortable place hooked around his leg and her fingertips brushed his grey beard. Her voice was low and sultry, as she brought her attention away from his pouty lips to his hooded eyes.

"How long?"

He automatically understand what she was asking. For her own sanity, she had to know when his interest in her began.

"Quite honestly, from the moment I met you." They mirrored one another with the small smile.

He noticed her glancing down at his lips. "Me too," she said.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" His hand massaged her lower back, pure glee pinning the corner of his lips into a goofy grin.

"Do you really have to ask?"

"I wasted so much time." He reached his hand up to caress her face.

"Everything happens for a reason Andy." Her eyes lowered, mesmerized by his lips once again.


	11. Philautia

**A/N: Yelle Hughes brought up my chapter titles. So one through four are stages in the grief process. At the beginning of the story Andy is sort of grieving his marriage to his ex-wife but once Danai comes along, the chapter titles switch to different love styles according to the ancient Greeks. Something I learned about in college while studying human development and it fascinated me. The story has the word "love" in it so I figured I'd play around with showcasing the different types of love that can be expressed. Also I apologize for the long wait, I'm still unfortunately sharing a laptop with my fiance lol.**

* * *

 **Philautia: self love**

"Everything happens for a reason Andy." Her eyes lowered, mesmerized by his lips once again.

"It does," he whispered, falling into a trance as he drowned in the depth of her brown pools.

Andy could not tell if it was his or Danai's heart thumping harder across his chest, that was not unlike her because she was always nervous around him. He on the other hand, was usually quite confident around Danai, so the fact that his palms were sweating caused him great strife, but again his body took over.

He held his breath once he realized their faces were gravitated towards one another. Andy was unsure of who reached for whom first, but their lips collided in the most satisfying acquaintance. Although it was not their first time meeting, there was an innocence about the caution in which they gently cupped one another's face. With his eyes closed and her body pressed against his, a spark of electricity crept up his spine. This was not Michonne, not his co-worker, not his friend . . . it was Danai.

The woman that made him laugh at the drop of a hat. The person he could count on to understand him without knowing every detail of his life. They were so much alike, although Andy saw her as superior. She was that much smarter, that much more talented, that much more determined. He could not help but feel blessed that she wanted him around. In spite of it all, she always made him feel like he was enough. In that moment, it was clear to him that he was downright wanted.

They gradually pulled back from one another. Andy peeked his eyes open to see her thick lips still slightly parted, her eyelids fluttered open displaying her darkened pupils. He was immediately drawn back to her. The energy flowing between them was unrestricted, fully authorized, translucent, everything he ever wanted it to be.

He captured her lips once again, this time more intentional, his hand sliding down to grasp her side, pushing his lips further into her mouth, needing to taste more of her. The way Danai's hand slid up his pec to wrap around his nape and squeeze his curls was like a flame searing his skin. He groaned, as the heat between them continued to build.

Andy was pleasantly surprised to feel her warm tongue peeking out to taste his lips. He met her tongue eagerly sliding his against hers. Her moan encouraged him to feed her more. He used his body weight to roll her onto her back, planting himself between her thighs as Danai sighed into his mouth, their heads tilting, seeking out just the right angle.

His hand trailed up her thigh, causing Danai to wriggle beneath him. She subtly rolled her hips upward against his pelvis. _She wants me to die._ To garner control, Andy veered towards her neck, licking her cool skin, before sucking sweetly at it. Meanwhile, Danai's breaths became shorter against his ear as his hand slid further up her thigh, wedging between their bodies to drag along her warm center atop her pajama bottoms. Even with the thin material he could feel her moisture seeping through.

He temporarily abandoned her apex to partially tug down the elastic strap of her top. He kissed the top of her bosom, her nipple springing to life before he tugged the top further underneath her bosom. His tongue ran over her pert nipple before suckling laborously. Danai hissed, her legs instinctively wrapping tightly around his torso as she gripped his curls a bit tighter.

His relished in the rigid texture of her nipple on the end of his tongue as he blindly crept two fingers to the elastic band of her pajama pants. _No underwear?_ His fingertips drug past the light hair that covered her mound, past her clitoris, to dip slightly into her slick opening. Nipple still in mouth, he glanced up at her to watch her reaction. Danai's back arched as Andy retracted, lazily circling her delicate lips, teasing her, causing her mouth to fall open as she released a tremendous sigh that ended in a moan when he plunged back into her center.

He covered her mouth to quiet her moans. _If she keeps this up she is going to wake up the whole neighborhood._ She drove him absolutely crazy as her lips grasped onto his tongue and began sucking gently as if she were savoring him like the strawberries he watched her devour at the vineyard. The heat from them exchanging each other's air, bartering each other's goods, invading each other's personal space amplified their panting.

Andy pulled back on his knees to remove his shirt and Danai sat up to do the same. They hastily removed the remainder of their clothes, but once no item was between them, they both paused to register what was about to happen. Without saying a word, Andy recognized that there was no going back from this, as chilling as it was to be in this new territory, he did not want to turn back.

Danai caressed his cheek, staring at him like a familiar stranger. The patterns and shapes of his face registered to her brain, but the man gazing at her hungrily was unknown. She nervously welcomed the intruder's acquaintance, as did he.

They fell back onto the bed, moist lips dragging against one another, tongues tasting skin before Andy sank into her. He felt her back lift from the bed, arching even under the weight of him. Her face scrunched, distressed by the insurmountable pleasure washing over her as Andy slowly rolled his hips against her.

"Fuck," he barely heard her sigh.

He was on sensory overload, the once quiet room was now filled with her sweet moans, his heavy breathing, the smacking of their lips meeting every now and then, and the slick sound of his length sliding in and out of her repeatedly. His gripped at the meaty flesh of her hips, reluctant to let her go. Even after a shower, the delicious smell of vanilla and coconut oil filled his nostrils. He felt Danai's nails dig into his biceps, enticing him with the pain.

"Let me get on top," she whispered in his ear. He grunted and rolled them over for her to immediately begin riding him as if he were a wild horse.

She confidently sat above him, her hands planted on his chest for leverage, her perky breasts bouncing above him. He ran his hands up her svelte waist to squeeze them. Danai bit her bottom lip, swiveling her hips rhythmically.

He did not intend for her to squeal once he unexpectedly sat up, holding her against him. He could not ignore his craving to have her warmth on his chest. They moved in tandem, thrusting onto one another as they held each other close. Danai's head rolled back, woozy and dazed and she felt a climax raiding her body as he kissed down her neck.

"Andy, shit . . ." she whispered as her body seized. Her walls clenching around him sent him straight to ecstasy. His body told him to stay right where he was, but the small voice of his conscious warned him to pull out at the last second.

The both stared at the ceiling for a for a few minutes as their breaths regained normal pace. "Oh my gosh," Danai whispered. Andy turned towards her with a smile, content as ever.

"I can't believe we danced around each other this long before doing this." Andy rolled on his side facing Danai, pulling her closer to bury his face in her neck.

"Me either," she giggled as the short hairs of his beard tickled her skin. Andy began purposely rubbing his beard against her in order to hear her laugh. She grabbed his face and stopped him. "Andy," she searched his icy blue eyes, "we both have flights tomorrow. Is this a one time thing or . . ."

"Danai there shouldn't be a doubt in your mind about how I feel about you. I want us to work."

"But how? You just bought a house overseas. I'm constantly filming in the U.S. You have two kids to raise, I can't take you from them." Worry was written all over her face.

"We'll figure it out. It won't be easy but we'll figure it out," Andy brought her knuckles to his mouth giving it a light kiss.


	12. Pragma

A/N: Welp, we're at the end of the road.

* * *

 **Pragma: love that endures**

Danai's mother, Josephine glanced at her husband as he entered through their bedroom door. She was generally focused on setting the backs of her earrings as she got herself dressed for the day, yet could not ignore the look of worry on her husband's face. He rested himself on their bed and asked, "Do you know where our daughter is? I knocked on her door and it was completely silent."

"Well you know she's an early bird. I haven't seen Andy yet either this morning. They possibly went out to breakfast. Their flights aren't until later this afternoon, I doubt they left for the airport already," said Josephine.

"It's unlike her to leave without letting us know," He said running his hand past his grey head of hair.

"Well Roger, she isn't a teenager anymore. She's fine." She lifted from her seat grabbing the empty laundry basket next to her. "I'm going to go check on the laundry."

Josephine lightly hummed a tune as she descended the long stairwell of her home. She was in a great mood having had her family get together successfully last night. It was not often that she had all her children in the house at one time. As she reached the landing, she observed that the kitchen was spotless. The mother of four was certain that her kids would have left food out since they were up long after she called it a night, but she could not be too surprised as her most responsible child, Danai was there to whip the others into shape.

Josephine continued padding down the short hallway, approaching the small laundry room that sat next to the downstairs guest room. She was startled when she heard something tumble to the floor from behind the door of the guest room followed by a loud masculine grunt. She deduced that Andy had not left the house yet, and it sounded like he was having a rough morning.

She continued her task, pulling clothes from the dryer until she heard a moan, the moan of a woman. Josephine raised her eyebrows with quick recognition. "About damn time," she mumbled, chuckling to herself as she carried the basket back upstairs.

Josephine entered her bedroom, mirroring her husband from a few minutes prior. "Hey, how about we go catch the matinee?" She tried containing the wicked grin growing on her face. Josephine was certain that something would eventually happen between Andy and Danai, yet the way her daughter was skirting around Andy all night, she did not think it would happen that weekend, nonetheless in her house, but she was not going to complain.

"I thought you had clothes to fold." Roger questioned, partially piqued by his wife's glowing mood.

"It'll be here when we get back." She shrugged, taking his hand.

"Okay dear, but I get to pick this time. Last time you had us watching some sappy love story. I don't know how you trapped me into that one. You should've taken your girlfriends to see that."

Josephine rolled her eyes, yet wore an adoring smile as she caressed the crown of her husband's head. "You are ridiculous, you know that?"

"And yet you agreed to marry me, don't forget that," Roger teased.

"How could I, you remind me every chance you get," she chuckled as they grabbed their belongings and locked the front door behind them.

* * *

Covers were thrown askew, pillows abandoned from the bed, and the alarm clock wobbled to and fro along the floor as Andy thrust deeply into Danai's soft center at a moderate pace. Sweat covered his forehead, and loose curls swung across it. His solid chest pressed against her soft one, swallowing her moans never losing rhythm.

Before the sun had risen, Andy enjoyed the soft feel of Danai's cheek in his palm, as he caressed her face, watching her chest rise and fall in her sleep, but his newfound hunger for her could not be contained. Realizing his feelings for Danai was like discovering love for the first time, thrilling and utterly impulsive. Without much thought, he had decided to wake Danai by pecking at her dormant lips.

A couple hours later he was admiring the plum brown goddess writhing beneath him. He told himself to be careful before he developed a craving for her, but it was already too late. Her warm sugar walls were enough to get him hooked, not to mention those chocolate eyes, and honey lips. She was a genuine treat and his sweet tooth would not allow for any reprieve.

He knew she was tired, therefore he took things slow, plunging into her warmth with slow strokes, ensuring that he was fully buried to the hilt before pulling away. He sucked on her lips, savoring her completely until he felt her humming against his, her walls tightening around him. Andy was not going to let up, instead he quickened his pace.

"Fuck Andy," she breathed out grasping his shoulders. She bit down on her lip trying to hush the noises coming out her mouth.

"You're so beautiful when you make that face." Andy rasped out as his lips trailed down neck. She replied by huffing, a wide grin covering her face as he paid worship to her body for the second time that morning.

In no time she ruptured with a yelp, shivering against him. He shortly followed, dipping his head to bite her neck as he groaned. He ached to feel himself release inside her, but this wasn't quite the time for any surprises.

* * *

"You know, the next time my sisters see us together they are going to tease us." Danai chuckled as her bare chest heaved up and down. They had lazily put the bed back together, decent enough for them to lie in.

"Why so?" Andy questioned.

"Last night my mom, aunt, and sisters were harassing me."

"About me?" Andy's eyes grew wide.

"Yes, but mainly in your favor. They couldn't believe that I had been friends with you, this incredibly attractive, intelligent man, for this long and nothing had gone on between us."

"I don't think we'd completely be honest saying that nothing had happened before now." Andy peeked over at Danai gauging her reaction, as he laid face down into the sheets. When she lifted her eyebrow in curiosity he continued, "Nothing physical has happened, but even my mom has brought up our connection, and this was just last week."

Danai maneuvered to her side to fully see Andy's face. "Your mom did not!"

"Yea, she's been trying to peddle you as the perfect partner for me for years," his sly grin making an appearance.

Danai craned her neck back, laughing wholeheartedly. "I knew I liked Laura. Maybe you should listen to her once in awhile," she teased through lowered lashes.

"I plan to." Andy smirked. Danai's eyes flitted towards his realizing the sincerity in his voice, she quickly turned away to hide her blush.

* * *

Andy moved without thinking, he strode behind Danai as her slim hips swayed left to right in her tight jeans. He ever so often would look up to watch her long elegant neck crane to the side to read the terminal numbers. He had no shame about ogling her in the busy airport whatsoever. He often caught himself staring at her in the past but would look away. This time she glanced back at him, her oversized shades covered her face, and a giant smile played against her lips.

"You be good back there," she warned, trailing her large suitcase behind her. Andy offered to roll it for her, but Danai insisted that they keep their relationship private, at least until Andy talked to his kids. Things between them had taken off like a rocket down in Africa, and now that they were returning to their homes, they both had to take a realistic step back, and evaluate the best way for their relationship to work.

Andy trusted Danai's strategy, yet he could not help but want to be carefree about their relationship. He had finally comprehended that after all these years he was falling in love with Danai, yet he hid it from himself. He was too blinded by the shock and denial of the impending crumble of his marriage. His time was occupied by trying to bargain for it back, testing to see if it was truly done. But it was not until he accepted the marriage's completion that he was able to love again.

Andy was confident that his kids would take well to Danai, however, they spent most of the morning -between bouts of sweaty sex- having serious conversation about what was to come next. His conversation with his son Arthur played over and over in his head. It was more than he and Danai's feelings involved and he had to be tactful about how he introduced Danai as his new girlfriend. On the slim chance that his kids did not like Danai, he had no idea how he would deal with that. He knew Gael would certainly react with disdain, which did not help his case at all, but he was done letting her dictate all his life decisions. _When did this become so complicated?_ He had a few weeks to get settled in his new house, and right after Andy and Danai were both required to be in Atlanta for the taping of their show's new season.

"Your plane's that way Andy," Danai said discreetly, her lips barely moving, with her eyebrow quirked high above her glasses.

"Really, that's the goodbye I get? You gotta come better than that Danai." Andy stood cockily a few feet away facing the slender actress.

"There's a guy right over in that corner with a camera so you better behave." She released the handle of her suitcase to capture him in a warm, friendly hug. "See you in a couple weeks." She spoke only loud enough for him to hear.

"A couple weeks is too long. I wanna kiss you so bad," he rasped into her ear, his hands slipping from shoulder blades to her lower back, right before he surprised her giving her a kiss on the cheek. Without another word he grabbed his suitcase and headed in the opposite direction without even a glance back. Danai lowered her head into her hand, struggling to shake off the fiery blush that heated her cheeks.

Some minutes later, Danai sat at the gate waiting for her flight to be called. She held a new read, _Daring to Trust_ by David Richo, fully enthralled by the author's advice on how to open oneself to real love and intimacy. From her peripheral, she noticed a stranger body plop next to her.

The man spoke, "You're Danai? Danai Gurira right?"

Danai simply nodded, bookmarking her page with her thumb as she lifted her eyes towards the mysterious guy. She panicked once she saw the camera in his hand.

The man went on to ask, "How long have you been dating your co-star Andrew Lincoln? We checked with the lady that owns the vineyard in Cape Town and she said she saw you two having a romantic dinner in her restaurant."


End file.
